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Dan Deacon – Live @ Gallery 5

On what was a typical Tuesday night in RVA, Gallery 5 was transformed into an absolutely bananas madhouse conducted by the gleefully hypnotic Dan Deacon. Riding high off of his most recent release “Gliss Riffer” Deacon brought an off kilter amalgam of psychedelic Simon Says, collective interpretive dance, and manic rave for the venue’s 10th anniversary celebration. Standing alone against the backdrop of the red curtained stage with his magic suitcase of noisemakers, his signature dramatic vocal presentation (read: gesturing hand as though summoning fire from the audience like a disco warlock) was welcomed by an eager and receptive audience. The sold out show had been thoroughly hyped and as such the crowd was a blend of diehard fans as well as newcomers interested in having an extrasensory experience. When Deacon instructed the crowd to place their left hand on the head of the person in front of them and “swap conscientiousness with each other” it became overtly clear who was at their first Dan Deacon show, and who was accustomed to his oddball crowd manipulation. But after busting out hits such as the blissed out lead single “Feel the Lightening” from the new record, everyone in attendance began to immerse themselves in the cult like experience. After a jilted evening of dancing and pseudo-teambuilding exercises (Deacon should start booking corporate gigs) an audience left sweaty and frazzled from a must see show from one of indie electronica’s most prominent figures.